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He could hear the taunting whispers of the ghosts around him as he stumbled through the halls of the Last Resort, weighed down by the Poltergust on his back.
“Why does he even bother?”
“He’s such a clumsy klutz.”
“Yeah, does he really think he’ll get the better of Lady Hellen and King Boo?”
“What makes him think he can be a hero like his brother?”
In any other time or place, he’d have been a lot more self-conscious about them. But he’s heard them all before—the countless comparisons to his brother had started since… well, since the day he was born.
Even in childhood, Mario had been the graceful, confident one, while Luigi had been… everything his brother was not. Clumsy. Uncoordinated. Scared.
“If he was smart, he’d have gotten out of here while he still had the chance.”
“Yeah, he could’ve taken over his brother’s place as hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.”
“Not to mention, he doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Yeah, he shoulda saved himself.”
Luigi frowned. They really thought that he would abandon his brother and his friends for any reason? The very thought of abandoning family and friends was unthinkable! They were always there for him when he needed them.
And so, he would not leave without them.
“How much longer do you think he’ll last?”
“An hour? Maybe two?”
“Pfft, look at him. He’s already at the end of his rope. I give him thirty minutes at the most.”
Luigi ignored the voices for a moment, his thoughts going back to his brother, to Peach, and the Toads.
They’d been through so much together, none the least of which was through the grueling hardships in the last Smash tournament—dealing with Ridley and Dracula, and Galeem and Dharkon…
They very nearly hadn’t made it out of that, but they had—and only because they had managed to find each other and their allies, and work together to get through to the end of it.
How was this any different?
It wasn’t.
He was alone now, but he’d find the others and get them out of here.
He had no other choice.
I’ll save you all, he mentally vowed, blocking out the whispers of the ghosts. I’m not sure how… but I will.
And, with that, he forced himself upright, pressing forward.
Somehow. I promise.